Oct. 30, 2006
Erica Hupp/Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1237/1726
RELEASE: 06-342
NASA ANNOUNCES DISCOVERY PROGRAM SELECTIONS
NASA Monday selected concept studies for missions that would return a
sample of an enigmatic asteroid, probe the chemistry of Venus'
atmosphere and reveal the interior structure and history of the
Earth's moon.
Also selected for further study are three missions of opportunity that
would make new use of two NASA spacecraft that have completed their
primary objectives.
"The science community astounded us with the creativity of their
proposals," said NASA's Science Mission Directorate Associate
Administrator Mary Cleave. "We look forward to the new knowledge of
our solar system that these concepts may provide."
Three missions were selected for concept studies:
-- The Origins Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and
Security (OSIRIS) mission would survey an asteroid and provide the
first return of asteroid surface material samples to Earth. Michael
Drake of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is OSIRIS's principal
investigator. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.,
would manage the project.
-- The Vesper mission is a Venus chemistry and dynamics orbiter that
would advance our knowledge of the planet's atmospheric composition
and dynamics. Gordon Chin of Goddard is Vesper's principal
investigator. Goddard would manage the project.
-- The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission would
use high-quality gravity field mapping of the moon to determine the
moon's interior structure. Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., is GRAIL's principal investigator.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., would manage the
project.
The three missions of opportunity selected for concept studies are:
-- The Deep Impact eXtended Investigation of Comets (DIXI) mission
would use the existing Deep Impact spacecraft for an extended flyby
mission to a second comet to take pictures of its nucleus to increase
our understanding of the diversity of comets. Michael A'Hearn of the
University of Maryland, College Park, Md., is DIXI's principal
investigator.
-- The Extrasolar Planet Observations and Characterization (EPOCh)
mission would use the high-resolution camera on the Deep Impact
spacecraft to search for the first Earth-sized planets detected
around other stars. L. Drake Deming of Goddard is EPOCh's principal
investigator.
-- The Stardust NExT mission would use the existing Stardust
spacecraft to flyby comet Tempel 1 and observe changes since the Deep
Impact mission visited it in 2005. In 2005, Tempel 1 has made its
closest approach to the sun, possibly changing the surface of the
comet. Joseph Veverka of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., is NExT's
principal investigator.
These proposals were among approximately two dozen submitted in
response to NASA's Discovery Program 2006 Announcement of Opportunity
in April. The announcement solicited two types of investigations:
complete missions to design, build and fly new spacecraft to
accomplish specific planetary science objectives; and missions of
opportunity that propose scientific uses for existing spacecraft or
build instrumentation for spacecraft of other space agencies.
NASA may select one or more investigations to continue into a
development effort after detailed review of the concept studies.
Decisions about which mission concepts will proceed to development
are expected next year.
New missions will receive $1.2 million to conduct concept studies. If
selected for continuation beyond the concept phase, each project must
complete its mission, including archiving and analyzing data, for
less than $425 million.
Missions of opportunities will receive $250,000 to conduct concept
studies. If selected for continuation, each mission of opportunity
must complete its project, including data archive and analysis, for
less than $35 million.
For more information about the Discovery Program, visit:
http://discovery.nasa.gov/
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home
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